What's on this weekend in Melbourne

Discover things to do in Melbourne this weekend, from free events to exhibitions, attractions and places to visit.

The NGV and Arts Centre lit up on a winter night.

This weekend

A pair of giant roving elderly character puppets on the streets of Carlton, performing as part of the Festival of Puppetry.
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Melbourne Festival of Puppetry

Performances, workshops, free events and more, presented around the city.

Drawing of a market stall with city buildings in the background.
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Moon Fest Market

A vibrant Mid-Autumn market with creative stalls, cultural workshops and family activities.

Regular weekend events

Dark image of a Dracula figure lit with red light on stage.
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Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest

A bold, cinematic reimagining of the gothic classic.

Rooftop garden at Fed Square with people under market umbrellas.
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RESET: A Festival for Grounding and Growing

Slow down, find joy in the hands-on and discover creative ways to live more sustainably this spring.

Two people seated below a neon sign.
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The Story of the Moving Image

A permanent exhibition that journeys through the past, present and future of the moving image.

Animator and filmmaker Adam Elliot working on a claymation set, adjusting characters.
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Making Memoir of a Snail

Explore handmade sets, props and characters from Adam Elliot's claymation film Memoir of a Snail.

A dark interior space, with smoky purple rounds of light, silhouettes of people's arms pushing into these open spaces.
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Imaginator

An immersive experience that celebrates imagination, technology and play.

A plate of fluffy pancakes with ice-cream and chocolate over the top.
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Chocolate Family Adventure Day

Enjoy an all-inclusive, stress-free family outing filled with fun, creativity, and delicious treats.

Man holding an old-fashioned lantern outside illuminated Flinders St Station at night, wearing a suit and cap.
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Hidden Melbourne: Ghosts, Murder and Mystery

Take a spine-chilling journey back in time to explore the rich paranormal realm of Old Melbourne.

Black and white photograph from the 1960s of model, Twiggy, wearing a mini-dress at the Melbourne Cup.
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Swinging 60s

This exhibition looks at what it was like to live in Victoria during the 1960s.

A group of people on a guided walk of the Royal Botanic Gardens, with trees in the background.
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Free Guided Walk

A free guided walk is the perfect way to enjoy the sunny weather in Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

An ancient Roman marble bust with its nose chipped off, displayed on a small square plinth.
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Rome: Empire, Power, People

This Melbourne-exclusive exhibition is a vibrant exploration of Ancient Rome.

Three people on a walking tour with a Fit City tour guide, two carrying a takeaway coffee.
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Laneways and Lattes Walking Tour

Explore Melbourne’s hidden laneways with coffee, street art, history and culture.

The lobby of a comedy venue, with a blue velvet couch and red curtains.
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Sunday Night Stand Up Comedy Show

See some of Melbourne's best stand-up comedy, every Sunday night.

A person in a gallery setting looking at a sculpture of an oversize wooden pipe with a sculpture of a giant peeled mandarin balanced on the pipe.
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Poetry Goes No Further Than Language

Explore a moment in mid-1980s China when a group of artists began to question values about art.

Two people on a stage giving each other a high five, one also holding a microphone.
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Comedy at the Coopers Inn

A comedy club featuring the best local, interstate and international stand-up comedians.

Workshop class participants smiling in a studio setting, holding up mosaic pots and coasters they have made.
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Mosaic Making Workshop for Beginners

Learn the art of creating beautiful mosaics from start to finish.

A group of smiling participants in a studio workshop setting, holding glass-domed terrariums.
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Serene Terrarium: Workshop for Beginners

Create your mini plant world while enjoying a soothing cuppa and a calming environment.

Workshop participants smiling and holding multicoloured mosaic tiled coasters.
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Colourful Mosaic Coaster Workshop

Come and make mosaic coasters and step into the world of colours.

A close up of flower made from enamel craft
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Cloisonne Enamel Painting Workshop for Beginners

Create a unique drink coaster using the ancient cloisonné art.

Three smiling workshop participants in a studio space, holding up jewellery they have made.
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Polymer Clay Earring Workshop

Create beautiful jewellery in this fun workshop.

People looking up at the trees on a guided walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
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Aboriginal Heritage Walk

Wominjeka: journey into Melbourne Gardens with an Aboriginal guide.

Two people standing in front of a large pink spiky wall of speakers in an exhibition space.
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Reverb: A Journey into Sound

ACMI and RISING present Reverb: A Journey Into Sound, a major exhibition of vinyl culture and music.

Cheese and wine display on a table near a window.
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High Cheese

A bold three-tiered journey showcasing local and international cheeses, inspired by fire and water.

Table set with food and drinks next to potted palms.
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Fern’s Hidden Winter Garden

Melbourne's most-booked winter escape blooms into spring.

Installation view of the Spartans & Anzacs exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance, with people walking around the space, reading panels and looking at displays.
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Spartans & Anzacs

This exhibition invites reflection on the enduring values forged in conflict.

Two theatrical costumes on display in front of a red curtain, featured in the ENCORE! exhibition at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts.
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Encore!

50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. Treasures from the Australian Museum of Performing Arts.

Two young adults observing a sculpture in a gallery space with digital and scupltural displays.
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EMERGENCE[Y]

An exhibition exploring how adaptation in a world of flux unfolds in every layer of life.

Visitors enjoying an evening event at the National Gallery of Victoria, seated on stools under shadowy lighting.
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NGV Friday Nights: Cartier

NGV Friday Nights shine with Cartier, featuring live music, flims, food and drinks.

Artwork by Margaret Preston depicting Banksia flowers in a pot.
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Margaret Preston

NGV's new retrospective exhibition on Margaret Preston.

An exquisite Cartier diamond tiara, suspended against a black background.
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Melbourne Winter Masterpieces: CARTIER

Featuring nearly 400 extraordinary jewellery objects, alongside rare archival materials.

Mossy bird's nest balanced between twig branches on a tree.
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Design X Nature

An outdoor exhibition of artworks exploring how natural systems inform creative practice.

Visitors walking through a 3D simulation of the cosmos using wireless VR headsets.
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Starstruck

Smithsonian Starstruck is an immersive 3D journey to the cosmos.

A large group of people in active wear all running on a path in park.
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Run the Tan: Run Club

Start the weekend off on the right foot with a run around the Tan.

A gallery space with paintings displayed on one white and one yellow wall, plus a series of totems or tree trunks displayed in a white stand in the middle.
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Ngarn Wa'ngal: Art of the Gum Tree

Discover how the iconic gum tree has inspired centuries of Australian art and culture.

Oktoberfest-themed illustration with man wearing a Tyrolean hat holding steins of beer, pretzel and meat, with a Melbourne tram.
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Oktoberfest at Hofbrauhaus

Celebrate German bier, food and music as the Hofbräuhaus Oktoberfest turns 58.

A traditional beer keg-tapping ceremony at an Oktoberfest celebration, at a Bavarian-style beer hall.
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Oktoberfest at Munich Brauhaus

Enjoy Bavarian feasts, flowing German bier, live entertainment, and all the Oktoberfest festivities.

Looking over a blurred shoulder at a table with books displayed.
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World of the Book

Experience the rare, the sacred and the iconic in this one-of-a-kind exibition.

Six female performers on a purple lit stage in costumes and striking poses, all singing into microphones they hold in their hands.
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SIX the Musical

SIX the Musical makes its royal stage return to Melbourne's Comedy Theatre.

Three ballerinas on a darkened stage in glowing tutu dresses.
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Ballet of Lights: Sleeping Beauty in a Sparkling Show

The classic fairytale is reimagined with glow-in-the-dark costumes and luminous staging.

Egg yolk pouring out of a long sub sandwich with cheese and salad.
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Gourmet Sandwich Hunt

Elevate your sandwich style with celebrity chef Darren Purchese.

Singers and dancers on a theatre stage in a scene from A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, with spotlights and stage sets.
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A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical

An inspiring, exhilarating, energetic musical memoir.

Aerial view of an outdoor market on Southbank promenade, showing the Yarra River with boats on the right, market umbrellas and stalls on the concourse and city buildings in the background.
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Southbank Makers Market

Explore the Southbank Makers Market every Sunday on the promenade at Southgate.

A solar eclipse, with light emerging around the edges of the blacked-out sun.
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Solar Tours

Come and experience the wonders of the Sun at the historic Melbourne Observatory.

Grilled cheese toastie on a plate.
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Vego Toastie Hunt

Elevate your vego sandwich with celebrity chef Darren Purchese.

A dancer performs on a brightly illuminated stage wearing a white tutu and bodice outlined with glowing green neon lights, behind her is a framed portrait of two women.
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Ballet of Lights: Cinderella in a Sparkling Show

The classic fairytale is reimagined with glow-in-the-dark costumes and luminous staging.

A still from a videogame depicting a Chinese soldier fighting two warriors in front of an ancient Chinese temple.
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Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart

An free exhibition that playfully reimagines modern Chinese history as a videogame.

An egg-shaped figuring with a brown cowboy hat and a pistol.
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NEW26

The return of the much-loved NEW exhibition series at ACCA.

Burlesque performers on stage wearing black clothing and waving white boa fans.
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Briefs: The Works

Circus with attitude. Drag with muscle. Burlesque with bite.

A circus performer holding onto a ring suspended from the ceiling, a big red star behind them.
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Circus The Show

Prepare to enter a world of whimsy and wonder where your imagination will soar like never before.

Participants on the State Library Victoria Unlocked guided morning tour inside the iconic dome at State Library Victoria in Melbourne.
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State Library Victoria Unlocked

Join an exclusive guided tour and experience State Library Victoria before the doors open.

A child posing in an alcove in a rainbow mural.
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School holidays

Entertain the whole family over the school holidays with these kid-friendly events and activities.

Black and white photograph of a busy Melbourne city intersection with trams, cars, people crossing the road, and buildings, dating from around the 1950s or 1960s.
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Making Modern Melbourne

This free exhibition examines the tumultuous twentieth century in Melbourne.

An oil painting of a pink flamingo alongside a beautiful woman in a pink dress sitting on a rock.
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Yianni John and Sammi Edney: That Little Something Xtra

A father-daughter exhibition intertwining pseudo-symbolism and imaginative realism.

See all events on this weekend

More to explore

People milling around Fed Square at sunset.

What's on today

Discover free events, epic festivals and shows on in Melbourne today.

A night tennis match at Rod Laver Arena.

Major events

From the Australian Open to the Melbourne Cup, major events take centre stage throughout the year.

People on deck chairs watching a movie in Fed Square on a large screen.

What's free in Melbourne this month

Everything to see, do and enjoy in Melbourne for free this month.

A chef cooking meat skewers over a flaming grill.
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What's on in November

Things to do in Melbourne in November, from free events to exhibitions and places to visit.